Tennis practice: How to get the most out of a hit
Lots of club players have a regular casual ‘hit’ or weekly practice session with a partner. But how do you make the most of a hit, so it really is a practice that helps your game? Here are some practical tips…
After a long day behind a desk, you’re down at your local tennis club to have a hit with your pal… Chad.
Your hitting partner’s name is Chad.
After two minutes of the pair of you smacking the ball into the back fence, Chad is bored. “Fancy a set?”
An hour later, Chad has dealt you a couple of breadsticks, 6-1 6-1. Chad always wins. He never misses. You always miss. But if you keep playing Chad week in, week out, you’ll eventually become a better player…
Sound familiar? Or maybe you’re the Chad in this situation. You make every ball and beat all the lower-level players with your jenky-yet-solid technique but as soon as you come up against somebody who can seriously play, you get ripped apart.
Whichever player you are, your level has plateaued. Worse still, you feel tense and frustrated after every practice…
Stop banging your head against the same wall! Here’s how to get the most out of your practice.
1) Relax
For any practice, for any tennis match, for any hit - for anything tennis - you have to stay relaxed.
Relaxation is the key to natural, flowing tennis.
I’m a firm believer in starting off your practice as you intend to continue. Get in the service box and spend a couple minutes staying as relaxed and loose as you can. Super-light yet fully extended swings, warming up your hand-eye coordination by trying to find that sweet spot of the strings as often as you can.
After a couple of minutes of light swinging mixed with some touch and feel shots, move back with that same relaxed free-flowing mind-set. Nothing should feel forced - find the natural swing speed you are most comfortable hitting at and continue in that vein for five minutes of free hitting.
Accelerating or decelerating the ball can cause a lot of players to tense up on contact. Swinging at your most natural pace to warm-up is a perfect way to avoid tension…
… and continue to avoid tension throughout the practice! If you have a tendency to spray unforced errors, why not hit at your natural pace for the rest of the session? You’ll feel loose and light by the end of the practice and should feel remarkably less stressed if you’re usually prone to errors.
Most importantly, the more you work on staying relaxed in practice, the quicker you’ll be able to stay relaxed during a match.
Don’t walk onto the court swinging at mach speed from the first ball.
Relaaaaax… and stay relaxed!
2) Work on consistency
Many players will arrange a practice to improve their consistency.
Consistency is a great objective for a practice. It is the foundation of tennis. Whoever makes the most balls tends to win the match most of the time… right?
Well… whilst that’s technically true, there are different levels of consistency.
Remember Chad from earlier? Chad is a pusher. He’ll do anything to keep the ball in play, putting very little on each shot, allowing his partner to overheat. But against quality opposition, pushing the ball back into the play has little to no effect.
Here’s a great tip to practice consistency: you can negatively practice consistency or you can positively practice consistency.
Don’t try to make 100 balls in a row with a partner, patty-caking them down the middle of the court. This reinforces negative hitting, in and at all costs shots, shots that have very little intent off of the strings of your racket.
Instead practice positive shots.
Here’s a breakdown of a fantastic game to practice consistency: ‘No Winners Allowed’.
Play competitive points but you are not allowed to hit a winner.
Your opponent should always be able to get a racket on the ball but has to do something to try and force an error or keep the point alive. In this drill, there is real intent and bite in your shots whilst simultaneously trying to achieve consistency. The rallies can end up being spectacular as you practice putting the ball into play from offensive, neutral and defensive positions.
I can’t recommend this drill enough. Next time you’re practicing, see how long you can keep a point alive whilst hitting the ball consistently with intent.
3) Focus on one goal
If you’re looking to improve in your practices, you need to find a Goldilocks level of comfort… Not too comfortable where you’re just hitting for hitting’s sake, improving nothing in the process. Not so uncomfortable that you miss every ball, likely reinforcing bad habits and stressing yourself out.
Find one solitary aspect of your game that you would like to improve and work on it for the hour. If you really want to improve, I can’t recommend this more. If you are consciously working to improve one thing, you won’t be totally comfortable - conscious effort to change or achieve something is uncomfortable but not so much that you can’t stay relaxed throughout your play… that Goldilocks level of comfort.
So, for the love of all that is tennis, if you really want to improve something, do not play a match every time you practice!
A match is a pressurised environment. It allows you to see how much improvement you’ve made during your practices but it is not the environment in which to develop those improvements. That’s too uncomfortable on the Goldilocks scale. You’ll do everything in your power to make the ball go in, tensing up, naturally detracting from that one thing you should be working on.
Don’t get me wrong - match practices are a great benchmark! But don’t expect to play 100 matches in a row and suddenly be playing like Roger Federer.
Take one goal into your practice. Whether that’s having a lower base on every shot, finishing your forehand over your shoulder, hitting the T in the deuce court…
Be patient, get uncomfortable (but not too uncomfortable) and practice to achieve one goal at a time.
4) Find the perfect practice partner
Don’t settle for a Chad!
Find a hitting partner that’s perfect for you.
Here are a few criteria to look out for when searching for your perfect hitting partner:
Same goals. Whether you’re both looking to improve your game, you both just want to play matches or you both just wanna hit a ball blindly, make sure you’re both on the same page. Basically, if you keep getting frustrated when Chad suggests you play a match, find someone that’s not going to insist on playing a match every time you meet up!
Similar level. This is essential. Find someone that can keep up with your pace of ball or vice versa, someone that can challenge you without overwhelming you.
Someone you get on with. Now this is essential. Above all else, you should be enjoying your tennis. Find someone you can bounce off of, someone with the same sense of humour as you, someone you’d like to grab a drink with after your hit.
If you think there should be a dating app for practice partners, I don’t blame you…
Once you find one or two perfect practice partners, prioritise practicing with them!
Summary
My thoughts on how to get the most out of your tennis practice?
Stay relaxed throughout the session.
Work on consistency using the No Winners Allowed game.
Focus on one goal at a time if you’re looking to improve.
Find the perfect practice partner.
As always, any questions or thoughts, tweet me @ontheline_jack. Happy hitting!
Jack Edward is a tennis analyst and host of the On The Line podcast, which takes regular deep dives into ATP and WTA tour matches. He’s also a qualified LTA coach and on Talking Tennis he brings his unique analytical insights to help club and recreational players to be more effective on the court.
See also:
101 reasons why tennis is the best sport in the world: 1. The Hit
Cut down on unforced errors - a simple tip for practicing patience
How to deal with nerves during a tennis match – 4 practical tips
